NW JACKSONVILLE Blog

Avoid These 6 Mistakes When Trying To Cool Off in Jacksonville

The summer heat has hit northeast Florida with full force this year and you’ve likely tried every idea in the book to keep your home cool without racking up your energy costs. Unfortunately, if you’re not familiar with the various systems in your home that go toward climate control, you could be falling for some commonly misunderstood myths. Make sure you’re improving your comfort and safety without significantly draining your budget!

6 Common A/C Mistakes

1. Letting The AC Run While You’re Out

When looking for better ways to cool off in the summer, many homeowners make the mistake of keeping their AC on the same low temperature all day. Unfortunately, this is often counterintuitive. Your air conditioner is actually designed to turn on and off periodically. This means making minor adjustments throughout the day while you’re home can actually help reduce the strain on your system while still improving your savings and comfort.

This is one crucial reminder: you shouldn’t allow your home to get too warm before trying to cool off again. If you turn the unit off entirely or let it rise too high, your air conditioner then needs to work harder to reduce the temperature. This can be an especially draining process on your electricity during extreme temperatures. Realistically, you should change the thermostat three or four degrees, allowing the unit to cool the area before raising the temperature again to conserve energy.

When you leave the house during the day for work or errands, simply raise the temperature a few degrees before leaving. This can increase efficiency more than entirely turning off the unit because when you return, the house won’t be stifling hot and the A/C will only have a few degrees to maintain.

1. Reducing the Thermostat to Cool Off “Faster”

Another common myth homeowners fall prey to is the idea that turning the temperature down past what you’re looking for will cool the house down “faster.” However, your A/C doesn’t blow cooler air or work harder if the thermostat is set lower. Instead, it will blow cool air at the same rate until the house reaches the target temperature, meaning it will just be turned on for a longer period of time.

The biggest problem with this method is that a household tends to forget about adjusting the temperature once it’s cool enough. The A/C will continue to run to try to reach the significantly lower number, adding stress and wasting more energy. Set the thermostat to your ideal temperature and remember to adjust accordingly when you’re feeling cool enough.

1. Closing Vents for “Efficient” Ventilation Between Unused Rooms

If you have rooms in your house that you don’t use often, such as a guest room or spare room, you may have the idea to close the vents in these areas. Some people are under the impression that cool air will be made available for the rooms with more activity. However, this isn’t necessarily how the ventilation in your home works, especially if you’re in a building with a modern air conditioning unit.

When you close off these vents, you could be contributing to problems with the ventilation system and air quality while also putting extra strain on your unit. Typical air conditioners are designed to cool off an entire house rather than just specific rooms. Irregular temperatures in the house can cause the A/C to continue running until the desired temperature is met.

1. Keeping Your Blinds Open All Day for Light

Before you worry about turning every light on in the house, it’s important to know that this is a tricky myth to cover. It makes sense that in order to reduce your electricity bills, you would rather opt for natural lighting over having to remember to turn off the lights throughout the house. However, during the hotter season, natural light additionally means an increase in heat, especially if your windows face the sun.

To bring in natural light with less heat, open curtains on the windows that are in the opposite direction of the sun. It’s also important to remember that in the evening, opening the blinds after the sun sets can help to let heat escape outside. At the very least, you can even upgrade to energy-efficient light bulbs; in addition to being easier on your eyes than older fluorescent light bulbs, they also help to reduce your monthly energy costs.

1. Neglecting or Skipping Regular Maintenance

When you start to see a climb in your heating and cooling bills, it’s likely due to forgoing home maintenance needs in an effort to save more during the year. Your HVAC unit, ventilation system, and other appliances and systems need to be regularly evaluated, maintained, and replaced. Otherwise, unexpected repairs and failures can start to add up, costing you even more than what you initially tried to save.

You can compare the situation to your car's routine maintenance needs: the oil, tires, and air filters are all areas that need to be regularly changed or switched out in order to run effectively. If left for too long, you're going to pay more to repair damages that were caused by old and deteriorated material. The worst-case scenario could even put your health and safety at risk. This same principle applies to your home - regular evaluations and upgrades are going to save you more money in the long run.

1. Ignoring Insulation Needs

Finally, there's one solution that, if ignored, will render almost all of our previous suggestions null and void - updating your home's insulation. When your home's insulation is old and deteriorated, conditioned air escapes and is replaced with hot air from outside. If you start to notice irregular temperatures throughout your home or that the A/V unit needs to kick on again soon after reaching a reasonable temperature, it's time for an evaluation.

When you schedule an insulation inspection, a number of issues could be revealed throughout the house: inadequate coverage, poorly installed material, or even spaces that are entirely missing efficient material. Add the right insulation to key places in the building, such as within the walls, in between ceiling joists, and even underneath your floorboards. This reduces the need to run your A/C as often to save more money on your monthly heating and cooling bills just as much as any other suggestion on our list.

Solve More Insulation Myths With Local Industry Experts

Changing household habits can be difficult, especially when many of these changes are considered out of sight, out of mind. That’s why it’s important to attack the issue right at the root of the most likely problem: insufficient or inadequate insulation and air sealing. At Koala Insulation of Northwest Jacksonville, we offer free evaluations so you and your household have a better understanding of how these materials impact your environment before you make serious purchases and changes.

Our team of insulation experts is dedicated to improving our community with solutions that are both cost-effective and energy efficient. We strive to bring our neighbors the best service that takes into account the needs of both your current budget and schedule. To learn more about how insulation and air sealing can improve your summer, contact Koala Insulation of Northwest Jacksonville and schedule a free evaluation.